As counterintuitive as this might sound, blog search isn't just about searching blogs anymore. Major media outlets -- notably Newsweek.com and WashingtonPost.com -- have made deals to leverage blog search into their own content, allowing their readers to go directly from their stories to blog posts that link to and comment on those same stories. WashingtonPost.com, Newsweek.com, and Salon.com have each recently announced partnerships with blog search engine Technorati to use the engine's algorithm to scour the blogosphere for posts linking to their stories, allowing their readers easy access to bloggers' commentary. Salon.com apparently started the trend in early July, …

Suddenly, there are more and more new media specialists: agencies with blogging practices, and specialists in podcasting and RSS. Now there's iFeed Media, which launched recently to help companies optimize their use of new media. Founded by Adam Kaufman, owner of interactive agency Pinpoint Media, the Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.-based firm writes, produces, distributes, and maintains RSS feeds, blogs, and podcasts. The firm also sells ad space in podcasts, monitors blogs for client mentions, and then helps clients craft responses. Kaufman expects RSS to explode next year when RSS readers are embedded into Internet Explorer 7. He also predicts that …

Imagine you're in line buying a movie ticket when you receive a text message on your cell phone. It says, "Would you like to see a trailer of the upcoming movie 'The 40-Year-Old Virgin?'" -- or whatever the hottest release of the weekend is. You think, why not? So you opt-in and wonder, "Gee, how'd they get my number?" They didn't. WideRay Corp. makes a digital jack that directly interacts with Bluetooth-enabled wireless phones passing within 35 feet. The technology identifies the phone and its capabilities, then transmits appropriate content, such as wallpaper or a video. The movie trailer …

Accipiter's on a tear. It's had a string of recent client wins for AdManager, its ad management product, including Clear Channel Interactive (CCI) and online brokerage Sharebuilder. AdManager features an XML-based technology that allows speedy integration between existing ad management platforms and Accipiter's proprietary system. According to CCI general manager Jason Gould, the company was attracted to the product because of its compatibility with Microsoft Windows and the XML integration product. "We were looking for an MS-based application, and that's what our programming environment is in, and that's where we have our tech staff," he says. "We felt that …

CBS Sports is bulking up its online presence, having recently announced plans to pool resources with CBS SportsLine.com. The goal is to make more sports content available on a 24/7 basis. Visitors to the combined site can access original video shorts from CBS SportsLine, along with content from the CBS Sports library. SportsLine is also rejiggering its home page to include a broadband video player, and will launch "glogs," or game logs that cover live sports events featuring live commentary, offered in real time. In addition, new shows are planned featuring original video from CBS Sports and a show …

Traditional television advertising is simple compared to the postmodern ways that marketers are reaching consumers. For example, a venture between Coca-Cola and Nascar cleverly blurs the lines of online media, video, and gaming. At the start of the Nascar racing season in May, Coke quietly introduced a new form of clickable entertainment on the heavily trafficked Nascar.com site. Each week throughout the racing season, Coke and MediaVest, its agency partner, added two- to three-minute video highlights compiled from the previous weekend's races. Working with technology firm Avant Interactive, the soft drink marketer then turned parts of the …

With search marketing budgets expected to reach $11 billion in the next five years, and the complexity of running campaigns increasing, finding the right technology is critical for big spenders in the space. Coremetrics, a provider of behavioral and search marketing analytics, may have the right solution. The company entered the search marketing management space last month with Coremetrics Search, a tool that enables users to manage search campaigns on Google and Yahoo! through its proprietary interface, as well as write ad copy, preview ads, and manage bid levels and budgets. The product incorporates Coremetrics' analytics suite, which not …

Media odds maker Forrester Research recently predicted that TV on cell phones won't be a market force for another five years, but mobile TV aggregator SmartVideo is already gambling on its timing. The Atlanta-based aggregator is adding "Vegas Sports" and "Vegas Scoreline" to an existing lineup of over 25 live and on-demand video channels that have been streaming to smart phones and wireless Windows PDAs since early this year. The service offers a $12.95 a month package that also includes ABC News, E!, and Fox Sports. "Target marketing is something we are very passionate about," says Richard Bennett Jr., president …

United Virtualities' (UV) software update to its free Hot Recorder VoIP recording program is compatible with Google's new instant messaging and free Internet telephone feature. Any user with a Google Gmail ID can download the search giant's free VoIP and instant-messaging product. United Virtualities founder Mookie Tenembaum says that making Hot Recorder compatible with Google Talk is especially important because UV expects Google to become one of the top VoIP operators. "We know that very soon Google Talk will become the first or second largest VoIP operator," Tenembaum says. "They're the only ones that can compete with Skype." …

Geary Search may be a new division of Geary Interactive, but the six-year-old San Diego-based firm has been using search, including geo-targeting, for years. "We were one of the pioneers that figured out how to do local search," says Andreas Roell, president, Geary Interactive. The company, founded in 1999 with the Sahara Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas as its inaugural client, now has Trump International on its roster, and has since branched out into education and entertainment clients. Still, Roell likes playing the smart percentages and the return on investment payoff that search delivers. For one education client, …